Spratty wraps up the Aussie summer with second at the Cadel Road Race

Amanda Spratt sprinted to second in Geelong at the end of another valiant effort on home soil, a result which see her lead the UCI Women's World Tour rankings as racing heads back to the northern hemisphere.

Two ascents of Challambra had everyone wondering how the race would play out and in the end, the second time up the climb was where the final selection was made.

Despite various attacks on the first circuit, 30 riders heard the bell ring to mark the start of the final lap but by the time she reached the top Challambra, Spratt was one of two riders leading the race.

Although there was a somewhat cohesive chase behind the front duo, Spratt and Loes Adegeest (FDJ – Suez) found themselves battling for victory in a two-up drag race to the line.

Spratt was sitting first wheel – not where she wanted to be – when the sprint was launch and was ultimately nudged into second place on the line, her fourth time on the podium at the race.

Watch the sprint…

So close for Spratty today but we can’t be anything but proud about her debut with the team this month in Australia 🇦🇺🫶💪#CadelRoadRace pic.twitter.com/w2Fl8kOB3t

— Trek-Segafredo (@TrekSegafredo) January 28, 2023

Spratty’s race debrief…

“To be honest I’m a bit disappointed. The team rode so week the whole day to set up me and Brodie for this final. We raced really well on the last couple of laps and I just couldn’t shake Loes there on the last lap. She told me she wasn’t allowed to work, so then there’s that dilemma in your mind, what do I do?. It was still a good situation for us to try and get to the finish line. But I’m a bit disappointed, I messed up my sprint a bit but second place, I’ve had a really good summer, so I’m really happy.

“I didn’t know that exact situation, Radio Tour was a bit hopeless today, we weren’t getting the information as quickly as we wanted, but then again you just have to think on the spot. You don’t often get that information anywhere in the world when it’s all split like that. It was just racing on instinct and so was hoping I had the legs for the sprint.

“It’s the first time we’ve done two times up Challambra so I think there was a bit of hesitation there. I was trying to encourage the teams with two riders to push it a bit. We still went into the second lap with the knowledge that I had split so much so if we pushed it really hard we could get it to split again.

“I wanted to be second wheel [for the sprint] but I ended up first wheel. I knew the group was coming from behind but [Loes] played that well. I’m disappointed in myself that I didn’t come from second. I spoke with [DS] Ina Teutenberg, we’ve got one of the best in the business, and I messed that up a bit so I’m sorry to my Team for that, but that was the best I could do today.”

Photo Gallery

Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race - Elite Women's Race 2023 - Geelong - Geelong 140,8 km - 28/01/2023 - Amber Pate (AUS - Team Jayco AlUla) - Lauretta Hanson (AUS - Trek - Segafredo) - photo Kei Tsuji/SprintCyclingAgency©2023

Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race - Elite Women's Race 2023 - Geelong - Geelong 140,8 km - 28/01/2023 - Tayler Wiles (USA - Trek - Segafredo) - Ilaria Sanguineti (ITA - Trek - Segafredo) - Lisa Klein (GER - Trek - Segafredo) - photo Kei Tsuji/SprintCyclingAgency©2023

Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race - Elite Women's Race 2023 - Geelong - Geelong 140,8 km - 28/01/2023 - Loes Adegeest (NED - FDJ - SUEZ) - Amanda Spratt (AUS - Trek - Segafredo) - photo Kei Tsuji/SprintCyclingAgency©2023

Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race - Elite Women's Race 2023 - Geelong - Geelong 140,8 km - 28/01/2023 - Loes Adegeest (NED - FDJ - SUEZ) - Amanda Spratt (AUS - Trek - Segafredo) - Nina Buijsman (NED - Human Powered Health) - photo Kei Tsuji/SprintCyclingAgency©2023